Chapter 2
Two shadows flitted through the water. If Heero had seen the creatures who cast these shadows, he would have 'flipped'.
A fish and a crab moved through the water, talking. This is why Heero would have 'flipped'. Animals couldn't talk. But, that little fact didn't stop these animals. These animals were worried about something...that much was for certain.
"What's that?" the fish asked, looking up at the sudden shadow on top of the water.
"I don't know." The crab answered. "Let's check it out." So, they went up to the surface of the water. When they saw the boat, they thought that maybe something was going right. Their best friend had her voice stolen from her in exchange for the ability to walk on dry land. The only way to get her voice back was to have her prince kiss her before the sun set on the third day. Upon moving closer to try to get the prince to perform this simple task, the fish and crab stopped. These were not the right people. What was going on here?
"Who are they? Where is Ariel?" the crab asked.
"I don't know, Sebastian. Maybe these people just wanted to float on the water for a while," the fish suggested. Sebastian turned slightly to the fish. He was about to open his mouth to retort, but was cut off when one of the people in the boat spoke.
"Duo, why did you bring me to this spot? What did that voice mean? 'the third day'?"
"Flounder...I think we have a problem. These people have taken Ariel's and her prince's places!" Sebastian almost shouted.
"Well, you know what we have to do?" Flounder asked.
"Yeah, I got a vague idea." Sebastian ducked down under the water again. Flounder continued to watch the couple in the boat until Sebastian returned.
"If we want to get Ariel back," Sebastian started. "We got to get these people back to wherever they came from. And, the only way to do that...is to get that one," he gestured to the one who spoke, "to break the spell on that one." He pointed to the silent one, then struck up the band.
"Hey, Duo. Do you hear that?" Heero gazed around, trying to detect the source of this sudden operatic onslaught.
Duo nodded and his smile brightened. He blinked a few times and sat up straighter. His problem was being solved for him, which was always good.
The couple sat there for a while and listened to the music and the voice that had begun singing.
After a while, Heero heard a line that he thought might help him in his plight.
She don't say a word, and she won't say a word until you kiss the girl. There was but one problem with Heero's new plan: Duo wasn't a girl. But, maybe, it would work anyway.